Browsing by Author "Keough, Noel Gerard"

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    A Critical Exploration of Natural Playgrounds in Calgary, Alberta
    (2023-07) Lowan-Trudeau, Kathleen Miho; Monteyne, David Patrick; Keough, Noel Gerard; Adams, Jennifer Dawn; Fox, Mikus Kristoffer; Blue, Gwendolyn Gail; Dyment, Janet
    Growing concerns surrounding children’s changing socioenvironmental contexts, such as the increasing impacts of urbanization and decreases in unstructured outdoor play, have led to the emergence of an intentional movement to increase natural play spaces. Among the variety of natural play space initiatives are natural playgrounds: play spaces that encompass a wide variety of interpretations, but generally involve the intentional incorporation of natural features and materials into the playground. Research on natural playgrounds has increased; however, several areas of inquiry remain, including a need for increased understanding of children’s perspectives on natural playground sites and more critical considerations of the complexities surrounding these spaces. In this qualitative study, I explore several areas of inquiry in relation to natural playgrounds in Calgary, Alberta. These areas of inquiry include play affordances, issues of accessibility and inclusivity, concepts of nature and sustainability, and settler colonialism in relation to natural playground development and usage in Calgary, Alberta. This study focuses on the development and usage of five natural playground sites. Primary research methods include online and mobile/walking interviews with 44 natural playgrounds users (e.g., children and caregivers) and seven playground developers (e.g., designers). This study is theoretically informed by political ecology, concepts of nature, and play affordances. Findings from this study are presented in a manuscript-based dissertation, which comprises four manuscripts along with two introductory chapters and a conclusion.
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    Evaluating the Conceptions of Public Participation in Environmental Assessments in Alberta: How Proponents and Regulators Understand the Practice
    (2017) Higuerey, Mariel Beatriz; Miller, Byron Andrew; Blue, Gwendolyn Gail; Jacobson, Rupert Daniel; Keough, Noel Gerard
    The use and encouragement of public participation in policy and decision-making, and in environmental and risk assessment, has increased considerably over the past couple of decades. However, there is a lack of consistency in the justification of public participation exercises to stakeholders and sponsors. This research explores the range of variations that exist in the understanding and implementation of public participation in environmental legislation in Alberta, and how those variations affect the evaluation of success. Proponents and regulators were surveyed and interviewed to examine their understanding and perceptions when dealing with public participation under two dimensions – intentionality and geographic framing. It was found that the success of public participation is constructed from both, but the understanding of how each dimension can guide the results is not fully grasped. Public participation is in danger of becoming a tokenistic practice if the tensions arising between these two dimensions are not addressed. The language and practice that surrounds public participation in environmental assessment needs to be redefined before lack of trust and public confidence become further barriers to development.
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    Is the Sprawling Urban Form Sustainable? : An Investigation of the Ecological Impacts of Low-density Fringe Development
    (2014-07-17) Abobo, Ansbert Monah; Keough, Noel Gerard
    The traditional postwar city has been characterized by extensive low-density residential growth coupled with an over-reliance on the private automobile for mobility in the city. As human activities seem to be the defining determinants of the unsustainable urban fabric, it is essential to understand the long-term impacts of the contemporary urban lifestyle and how it detrimentally relates to the planet. In this research, two urban development concepts were investigated to determine the type of urban form suitable for structuring a more sustainable city. By comparing low-density suburban communities to core area communities using an environmental impact assessment tool supported with empirical observations and theory, the differences between these two urban concepts were obtained. Using the ecological footprint methodology, footprint estimations were done for suburban communities (N = 8) and core area communities (N = 4) in Calgary to find out their disparities. The research used neighborhood household income/consumption as a proxy for estimating the ecological footprint values and footprints obtained ranged between 11.35 Gha/cap and 6.77 Gha/cap. All the data used in this research are secondary data obtained from Statistics Canada, The City of Calgary, and a Canadian national footprint study by Mackenzie et al (2008). The research suggests that drawing growth to core areas is a salient part of reducing ecological footprint but it needs to be complemented with novel ways of urban fringe development to maximize the outcomes of ecological footprint interventions. Since the highest ecological footprint values were found in high-income suburban neighborhoods, it is relevant to approach the problem by utilizing income as an integrator in making the urban form less suburban and also changing the structure of the few indispensable suburban communities.
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    Marginal Enclosures: An Exploration of the Viability of a Social Housing Siting and Maintenance Framework Based on Stakeholder Experience - The Case of Lagos State, Nigeria
    (2021-08-31) Daniels-Akunekwe, Chika Chioma; Sinclair, Brian Robert; Keough, Noel Gerard; Dall'Ara, Enrica; Dotson, Olon; Patterson, Matt; Keenan, Thomas Patrick
    In Nigeria, social housing, which is fundamentally associated with the most disadvantaged people in the society, accounts for about 5% of the total housing stock. Within this percentage, a significant number of developments are lost due to reasons predominantly associated with siting and maintenance. Typically, social housing is located at urban fringes where, with barely any attention from government or developers, it is vandalized and/or abandoned. In addition to suffering the same fate (of vandalism and/or abandonment), social housing developments (infrequently) constructed at the boundaries of high(er) income neighborhoods are also often met with severe opposition from residents of such neighborhoods. This opposition has customarily led to abandonment of the project either at inception or before completion. There is scant research on understanding and developing strategies/systems to address the siting and maintenance of such developments, this is evidence that there is a knowledge gap to be filled. While this is not a novel study, it can be implied that the persistence of the problem signifies a limitation in previous studies. My research hypothesizes that if social housing developments are properly located and maintained, they will be more successful. Based on existing theories, my study seeks to create a framework to guide the siting and maintenance of social housing developments in Lagos, by considering the participation of key stakeholders.
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    Surveying the Ecologically Embedded Built Environments of the Preindustrial Era with a Focus on the Classic Maya
    (2021-05-13) Akbar, Naji; Keough, Noel Gerard; Monteyne, David Patrick; Paris, Elizabeth H.; Sinclair, Brian Robert
    The questions that this research raises are: I-Why our modern habitats cause environmental degradation? II-Can we convert our built environments into places that have little or no adverse environmental and social impacts? III-To achieve the above, is there anything for us to learn from the preindustrial cities? The research then discusses industrialization and mass consumption and how these affect urban lifestyles and the built environment. People and place connections are also explored to see why and how people should care about their habitats. As a result, ideas related to sustainability, ecology, and urbanism emerge as key themes that shed light on people-place relatedness. The research then defines these themes and, in order to look towards the future, undertakes a general survey of those preindustrial societies and their built environments that showed signs of implementing them. The research discovers that there are many urban settlements that survived for many centuries without the aid of advanced technology, industrialization, and mass consumption. The key to their survival was understanding what their environment constituted, what it could offer as life-supporting systems, and how could these systems be maintained sustainably. Decisions regarding where to locate settlements and how to configure them with the existing landscape and climate provide insights into these valuable and relevant preindustrial practices. The research records the above-mentioned preindustrial built environment characteristics and carries out a more focused survey of a specific civilization. Various Mayan cities are studied for their land and climatic conditions and the response of the Maya to these conditions. It is noted that the Maya built environment situated in the tropical forest did not differ much from the forest itself. In many ways, it mimicked the way the forest worked, and by doing so, it was able to sustain itself for many centuries. The research ends with a summary of the findings and hints at the lessons learned. If we are to develop built environments today that are truly sustainable, then these lessons could connect us to the knowledge and wisdom of the previous generations that were accumulated over many millennia.
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    Tall Buildings, High Expectations, Towering Responsibilities: Critically Considering Skyscrapers, Urbanism and Sustainability
    (2018-11-23) Alotaibi, Fahad; Sinclair, Brian; Kolarevic, Branko; Keough, Noel Gerard
    The present thesis investigates the tall building phenomenon in the Gulf cities through the lens of the place-making, urban integration, and sustainability. The specific focus is on four cities (Riyadh, Dubai, Kuwait, and Doha) in the Gulf countries. The overarching aim of this work is to draw a big picture of the vertical development in the region. To this end, a qualitative methodology—specifically, the case study approach—is used. Specifically, to investigate the tall building typology in the region, we perform an in-depth analysis of 12 cases studies (three cases from each of the four cities under study). To complement this analysis, several other data sources are used, including interviews with three different groups of stakeholders, literature review, documents and secondary resources, and field visits. Based on these sources to which appropriate methodologies are applied, the present thesis proposes a conceptual framework and formulates design guidelines that will help to enhance future planning and design of tall building in the Gulf region. Taken together, the results reported therein demonstrate that the issues of placemaking, urban integration, and sustainability are crucial to meet the needs of tall building construction in the Gulf region.
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    The Transition of Manchester, Calgary into a Sustainable, Low-Carbon, 100% Clean Energy District
    (2021-04-16) Amin, Sarjana; Keough, Noel Gerard; Natvik, Mathis; Assefa, Getachew
    The transition into a post‐carbon world will require collaboration across all sectors and system‐wide changes. This design exploration models the transformation of an entire Canadian city district into a low‐carbon development using urban planning, 100% clean energy, and sustainable development. Sustainable buildings and transportation systems are designed first. The community’s heat, electricity, and transport energy demands are then modelled. Clean energy sources and technologies are analyzed to model their potential energy generation. After evaluating the space requirements and the economics between different energy system choices, an ideal energy system for the community was proposed and the potential greenhouse gas emissions reductions were calculated. Solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, nuclear, and wastewater heat recovery energy are combined with electrifying sectors, reducing energy demands, green buildings and infrastructure, mixed‐use developments, reducing automobile dependence, electric vehicles, and sustainable public transport to transition the Manchester district in Calgary, Canada into a post‐carbon city district. This study found that it is possible to meet Manchester’s energy needs using local clean energy sources and presents a ceiling for the number of energy generation technologies, the capital costs, and the space required for the energy mix. The proposed energy mix includes rooftop solar panels, a wind farm, geothermal heat pumps within the district, a geothermal power plant, a small modular reactor nuclear power plant, and a wastewater heat recovery plant. Sustainable infrastructure and energy will significantly reduce the district’s GHG emissions compared to implementing Alberta’s current unsustainable buildings, ICE vehicles, and fossil fuel-based energy mix. The final product of this research is a method to analyze the transformation of entire large‐scale communities into low‐carbon developments, which can be individualized and applied to communities to estimate their unique energy demands and create a customized clean energy mix to meet them.